as in encountered
to come upon face-to-face or as if face-to-face
happened upon the hotel manager in the lobby and promptly complained about the room
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for happened (upon)
Verb
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The buyer's legal team had never encountered her structure before.—
Lien De Pau,
Forbes.com,
25 May 2026 -
During the first trip when operations resumed, the crew encountered a severe washout where fire debris collected at a culvert.—
Logan Smith,
CBS News,
24 May 2026
Verb
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Somewhere between Pomp and Circumstance and the president’s closing remarks, more than one commencement speaker this year mentioned artificial intelligence — and met a barrage of boos.—
Ann Kirschner,
Forbes.com,
22 May 2026
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Each with a bespoke gentleness to their rhythms, these newest works by Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Koji Fukada, and grand master Hirokazu Koreeda have been met with differing degrees of enthusiasm, per the many critics’ grids floating around.—
Ritesh Mehta,
IndieWire,
22 May 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Happened (upon).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/happened%20%28upon%29. Accessed 29 May. 2026.
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